Later in the day, he only woke up when one of his classmates was about to go home. She said goodbye to everyone else before she left, and soon after she did, the other dude in the group—Tristan—also left on his motorcycle.

One by one, the members of the group left the house, and Leon was the last one to leave. He doesn’t know why he chose to leave last, probably because he was too tired to wake up, but there was something more to it than that. Only after the last group member was picked up did he woke from the bag and said goodbye to Melia’s parents, and then he headed to the front door—Melia coming out with him as well so she could open the front gate for him.

As he went and ties his shoelaces on, Melia suddenly called out to him. “Leon?” she said.

He had a slow reaction and didn’t turn toward her immediately. He stumbled his hand on the shoelaces and retied it again before looking at her. And then he said, “Yea?”

She hesitated for a second, looking straight at him. “Um, Leon. Your face... your face is red,” she said, her voice sounding concerned. “Are you—are you okay?” she asked, slowly approaching him. He was still down on his knees and she knelt beside him.

Her hand gestured to touch his forehead, silently asking him, ‘Can I?’, and Leon nodded, letting her test his temperature. She didn’t need long to determine that, as the moment her hand touches his forehead, her face immediately turned blank.

“Oh my God... you’re heating up,” she said, putting her hand off his forehead and to the side of his face instead. “Leon, are you okay? Do you feel well?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

She let go of him and he went and touch his own forehead. “Hm? I don’t feel it?”

“Well, I feel it, and you’re heating up. What are you gonna go home on?”

“Uh, I’m taking—I’m taking the bus,” he answered.

She seemed doubtful. “You sure you can do that?”

He stood up, and she followed after him as well. He shook his head, gripping the hilt of his bag tightly. “Yeah... yeah, I’ll manage. I’m just—just a bit tired, I guess,” he said.

Honestly, she’d believe him more if what happened after didn’t happen. As he was about to walk off, he suddenly lost his balance and stumbled on his feet, about to fall to the ground. Luckily, Melia managed to circle her arms around his body and stops him from falling flat to the ground.

After she caught him, he didn’t say a word—not yet at least. He froze in place as she looked at him with worry. He heard her say something out, but he couldn’t quite make sense of what she was saying, too stunned and too much in a daze.

He used her support to help himself stand upright, and then he brushed her hand off of him. “Thanks,” he said, under his breath.

He looked at her, and then he clenched his fist and went to the gate. Melia was beside him and she unlocked the front gate, and he immediately walked out of her house. He went to the left, and he headed straight towards the main street.

“Be careful!” Leon heard Melia say so from behind his back before he’s gotten too far, and it made him turn around for a few seconds to look at her.

His lips lightly curled, and then he yelled back. “Yeah, thanks,” he said. “Bye Mel!”

He waved his hand and turned around without waiting for her to wave back. He walked towards the busway and quickly took the bus back to his home, and when the bus arrived, he hopped off and walked to his house. And when he’s at his home, he took out the key from his bag and unlocked the gate, and then he proceeds to unlock the front door.

He walked into his house and eventually... his body just dropped down on the couch.

He hasn’t even locked the door of his house yet. His body felt heavy, and he just quite literally fell flat onto the couch, his face falling first. And he groaned.

“Shit,” he said.

With how heavy his whole body felt, yeah... there’s no denying that he’s sick now.